A seven-part documentary series arguing that "health and longevity are correlated with socioeconomic status; people of color face an additional health burden, and our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice. Each of the half-hour program segments, set in different racial/ethnic communities, provides a deeper exploration of the ways in which social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives be improving them"--Container insert.

In sickness and in wealth: "What connections exist between healthy bodies, healthy bank accounts and skin color? Follow four individuals from different walks of life to see how their position in society, shaped by social policies and public priorities, affects their health"--Container insert.

When the bough breaks: "African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as for white Americans. African American mothers with college degrees or higher face the same risk of having low birth-weight babies as white women who haven't finished high school. How might the chronic stress of racism over the life course become embedded in our bodies and increase risks?"--Container insert.

Becoming American: "Recent Mexican immigrants tend to be healthier than the average American. But those health advantages erode the longer they've been here. What causes health to worsen as immigrants become American? What can we all learn about improved well-being from new immigrant communities?"--Container insert.

Bad sugar: "O'odham Indians, living on reservations in southern Arizona, have perhaps the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Some researchers see this as the literal 'embodiment' of decades of poverty, oppression, and loss. A new approach suggests that communities may regain control over their health if they can regain control over their futures"--Container insert.

Place matters: "Increasingly, recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving into long-neglected African American urban neighborhoods, and now their health is being eroded as a result. What policies and investment decisions create living environments that harm, or enhance, the health of residents? What actions can make a difference?"--Container insert.

Collateral damage: "In the Marshall Islands, local populations have been displaced from their traditional way of life by the American military presence and globalization. Now they must contend with the worst of the 'developing' and industrialized worlds: infectious diseases such as tuberculosis due to crowded living conditions, and extreme poverty and chronic disease, stemming in part from the stress of dislocation and loss"--Container insert.

Not just a paycheck: "Residents of Western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and higher rates of heart disease and diabetes after the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a company in Sweden, where mass layoffs, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign because of government policies that protect and retrain workers"--Container insert.

Fragment:

A seven-part documentary series arguing that "health and longevity are correlated with socioeconomic status; people of color face an additional health burden, and our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice. Each of the half-hour program segments, set in different racial/ethnic communities, provides a deeper exploration of the ways in which social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives be improving them"--Container insert.

In sickness and in wealth: "What connections exist between healthy bodies, healthy bank accounts and skin color? Follow four individuals from different walks of life to see how their position in society, shaped by social policies and public priorities, affects their health"--Container insert.

When the bough breaks: "African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as for white Americans. African American mothers with college degrees or higher face the same risk of having low birth-weight babies as white women who haven't finished high school. How might the chronic stress of racism over the life course become embedded in our bodies and increase risks?"--Container insert.

Becoming American: "Recent Mexican immigrants tend to be healthier than the average American. But those health advantages erode the longer they've been here. What causes health to worsen as immigrants become American? What can we all learn about improved well-being from new immigrant communities?"--Container insert.

Bad sugar: "O'odham Indians, living on reservations in southern Arizona, have perhaps the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Some researchers see this as the literal 'embodiment' of decades of poverty, oppression, and loss. A new approach suggests that communities may regain control over their health if they can regain control over their futures"--Container insert.

Place matters: "Increasingly, recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving into long-neglected African American urban neighborhoods, and now their health is being eroded as a result. What policies and investment decisions create living environments that harm, or enhance, the health of residents? What actions can make a difference?"--Container insert.

Collateral damage: "In the Marshall Islands, local populations have been displaced from their traditional way of life by the American military presence and globalization. Now they must contend with the worst of the 'developing' and industrialized worlds: infectious diseases such as tuberculosis due to crowded living conditions, and extreme poverty and chronic disease, stemming in part from the stress of dislocation and loss"--Container insert.

Not just a paycheck: "Residents of Western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and higher rates of heart disease and diabetes after the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a company in Sweden, where mass layoffs, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign because of government policies that protect and retrain workers"--Container insert.

Beoordelingen

This four-hour epic documentary, which aired on PBS in the spring of 2008, uncovers how race, gender and socioeconomic status influence our overall health. The first and longest (55 min.) of seven episodes, In Sickness and in Wealth, provides an overview and sets the tone for the series. Loaded...Meer lezen...

This four-hour epic documentary, which aired on PBS in the spring of 2008, uncovers how race, gender and socioeconomic status influence our overall health. The first and longest (55 min.) of seven episodes, In Sickness and in Wealth, provides an overview and sets the tone for the series. Loaded with staggering, sobering statistics, this one-hour film profiles citizens in various socioeconomic groups and equates them with studies proving that social factors carry more weight in our overall health than our genes. Unfortunately in our country wealth and race impact many of the things responsible for good health such as nutrition, where we live, and how we treat each other. Social factors then manifest biologically into chronic stress, increasing the amount of cortisol and adrenaline that flow through our bloodstream, creating a host of disease states in the body.

The remaining six episodes focus on the various issues that create chronic stress in our society.

Episode two, When the Bough Breaks, looks at the effects of racism on African American infant mortality rates. Two Chicago physicians noticed African American infant mortalities and pre-term births numbering twice that of white patients. Their study revealed that the chronic stress of dealing with gendered racism over the lifetime of the mother is a risk factor, regardless of income. Stress hormones affect pregnancy in many ways, and the goal is to reduce or remove those stressors.

Becoming American, episode three, is a fascinating look at how the health of recent immigrants to the U.S. declines the longer they stay here. Not only does this affect the people and communities involved, but the entire health care system. Studies show that the Mexican immigrants profiled in this film, are not only in better physical health when they arrive here, but that the close family ties of the Latino culture form a protective shield around them. This only lasts so long, however, before they too experience declining health from a generally lower socioeconomic standing in the U.S.

Episode four, Bad Sugar, profiles the Native Americans living in southern Arizona with skyrocketing rates of diabetes. Being displaced and forced to live on reservations followed by years of oppression and poverty have taken their toll on entire native communities. A National Institutes of Health study proved a direct biochemical connection between poverty and diabetes. This is a disheartening look at the plight of the southwestern native tribes. While rebuilding is beginning, it looks to be a long process.

The importance of place continues in Episode five, Place Matters. The effect of where you live astoundingly impacts your overall health and life expectancy. Looking at two west coast disadvantaged communities, it is easy to see the domino effect of chronic stress on an entire neighborhood. Your neighborhood determines your exposure to environmental chemicals, healthy foods, social culture, violence and other stressors that leave residents with a sense of loss of control. Rates of heart disease and diabetes are dramatically higher in poorer neighborhoods. How do people gain more control of their surroundings? How can they influence health policy?

,em>Collateral Damage, episode six, is a distressing glimpse at life in the post-colonial Marshall Islands. Dominated by the U.S. military base on Kwajalein, residents of the islands are strictly segregated, living in squalid overcrowded conditions that are in stark contrast to the Americans living on the base in a seeming island paradise. Losing their connection to the natural world, as well as battling an influx of Western diseases, the native islanders struggle to remain healthy.

The final film in the series, Not Just a Paycheck, examines the impact of job loss on residents in Western Michigan. (A situation that will no doubt be growing across the country in our current economic crisis.) External life events create anxiety and stress, creating an increase in metabolic changes, kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes. This episode examines the concept of excess deaths, those deaths over and above what is normally expected, and how that relates to external stressors. It also compares the U.S. health care and unemployment system with that of Sweden.

All the films in the series have high production values. The producers and directors have created a fascinating classic series on health in America that is eye-opening, maddening, and at times embarrassing. This reviewer would have enjoyed seeing a response from congressional representatives and policy makers in response to several of the issues discussed, for a slightly more balanced view. This series also makes crystal clear the interconnectedness of life on our planet.

Unnatural Causes has two related web sites that offer additional resources: one for the film itself and one from PBS. They have different information so it is worthwhile to check both. This series belongs in every academic library collection. Educators will make good classroom use of the individual films, all of which, with the exception of In Sickness and in Wealth, are around 30 minutes in length. Highly recommended for collections supporting programs in the health sciences, particularly public health, economics, sociology, social work, and political science.

In high demand at University, Excellent public health video

This single DVD contains seven different episodes of a PBS series on the health implications of lifestyles associated with the poor in the United States.

So many faculty at Winona State University want to show different episodes in their classes that it is difficult to share the single DVD....Meer lezen...

This single DVD contains seven different episodes of a PBS series on the health implications of lifestyles associated with the poor in the United States.

So many faculty at Winona State University want to show different episodes in their classes that it is difficult to share the single DVD. It is highly recommended for educators interested in presenting their classes with issues of public health in poor and minority communities.

"A seven-part documentary series arguing that "health and longevity are correlated with socioeconomic status; people of color face an additional health burden, and our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice. Each of the half-hour program segments, set in different racial/ethnic communities, provides a deeper exploration of the ways in which social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives be improving them"--Container insert."@en

"Becoming American: "Recent Mexican immigrants tend to be healthier than the average American. But those health advantages erode the longer they've been here. What causes health to worsen as immigrants become American? What can we all learn about improved well-being from new immigrant communities?"--Container insert."@en

"Bad sugar: "O'odham Indians, living on reservations in southern Arizona, have perhaps the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Some researchers see this as the literal 'embodiment' of decades of poverty, oppression, and loss. A new approach suggests that communities may regain control over their health if they can regain control over their futures"--Container insert."@en

"When the bough breaks: "African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as for white Americans. African American mothers with college degrees or higher face the same risk of having low birth-weight babies as white women who haven't finished high school. How might the chronic stress of racism over the life course become embedded in our bodies and increase risks?"--Container insert."@en

"In sickness and in wealth: "What connections exist between healthy bodies, healthy bank accounts and skin color? Follow four individuals from different walks of life to see how their position in society, shaped by social policies and public priorities, affects their health"--Container insert."@en

"Collateral damage: "In the Marshall Islands, local populations have been displaced from their traditional way of life by the American military presence and globalization. Now they must contend with the worst of the 'developing' and industrialized worlds: infectious diseases such as tuberculosis due to crowded living conditions, and extreme poverty and chronic disease, stemming in part from the stress of dislocation and loss"--Container insert."@en

"Not just a paycheck: "Residents of Western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and higher rates of heart disease and diabetes after the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a company in Sweden, where mass layoffs, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign because of government policies that protect and retrain workers"--Container insert."@en

"Place matters: "Increasingly, recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving into long-neglected African American urban neighborhoods, and now their health is being eroded as a result. What policies and investment decisions create living environments that harm, or enhance, the health of residents? What actions can make a difference?"--Container insert."@en